Blue metallic Beetles mating
Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Hello Bugman,
I found a half dozen pairs of shiny, slow moving beetles in my friend’s
lawn late this summer. Any idea what these are or will become? They were about 1-1.5 inches long and a bit bigger around than an average Sharpie marker. Thanks!
Looking for bugs in NE
Oakland, Maine,northeastern United States
Mating Oil Beetles
Dear Looking,
These are mating Oil Beetles, Blister Beetles in the genus Meloe.
Mating Beetles / Northern Michigan
Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 9:15 AM
These beetles were all over a small meadow next to our cottage in Maple City Michigan during the first week of August, 2008. Caught these two mating. Ooh la la… I have no idea what kind they are and haven’t been able to ID them on my own.
Your site is wonderful! Thanks!
Jeff
Maple City Michigan, USA
Mating Banded Longhorns
Hi Jeff,
Your mating beetles are Banded Longhorns, Typocerus velutinus, in the group known as Flower Longhorns. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on decaying hardwoods such as oak, hickory. Adults usually found in daytime, but do come to lights, so probably somewhat nocturnal. “
Mating Large Tolype
Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 4:18 AM
Thought you would like a picture of two Tolype mating. These were on the side of a large flower pot. I took this picture on 9/22/08. I live in Geetingsville, Indiana, located in central Indiana. I do not know what that is on the pot to the left of the Tolype. About a week later it was gone. Thanks, Diane Little
Diane
Geetingsville, IN. Central Indiana
Large Tolype Moths Mating
Hi Diane,
WE agree that this pair is more likely the Large Tolype, Tolype velleda, than the Small Tolype, Tolype notialis, based on the comments on BugGuide. The species is also called the Velleda Lappet Moth.
Orb weaver nookie
Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Just wanted to share a picture of the two Orb weavers we shared our patio with this summer. We live in Charleston, SC. We named them Lilith and Frasier. Unfortunately, Lilith disappeared about a week after this photo was taken.
Amy
Charleston, SC
Golden Silk Spider Courtship
Hi Amy,
What an amazing photo of a pair of Golden Silk Spiders, Nephila clavipes. We are not sure who was named Lilith, but the larger of the pair is the female. We would think that it would have been the smaller male that vanished.
Mating blister beetles
Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Hey fellows, love the new website design! Here are the mating blister beetles from Shilo, Manitoba, Canada
Sherry
Shilo, Manitoba, Canada
Mating Blister Beetles
Hi Sherry,
WE have received images of these Blister Beetles from Canada in the past, and we have not had any success with identifying the species. We have matched the images to the genus Lytta on BugGuide, though the indication is that the species might be Lytta nutalli or Lytta cyanipennis.
Mating Blister Beetles
Greasy Sex Picture
Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 9:19 PM
Probably got your attention now 
, out bird watching and came across these mating Big Greasy Butterflies. Only had the 400mm telephoto on so not as detailed as I would have liked but thought you might like it for the bug love pages. Do many butterflies mate in this face to face position?
Regards the Moths of Australia website, Don is one of my inspirations in the bug world and I emailed him for an ID of the plume moth. He liked the picture so much he asked if he could add it to his page
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia
Big Greasy Butterflies Mating
Hi again Trevor,
This is a beautiful photo of mating Big Greasy Butterflies, Cressida cressida. While the common name is somewhat offputting, it is nonetheless a lovely butterfly. The Big Greasy is also known by the more attractive name Clearwing Swallowtail.
some kind of beatle?
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 3:12 PM
found these two having a romantic evening as the sun set on Oct 12, 2008.
very prehistoric looking. thank you,
Genesis
South St. Louis area of Missouri USA
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi Genesis,
Prehistoric is a word that we often hear in conjunction with Wheel Bugs. Your mating Wheel Bugs are Assassin Bugs, not beetles.
Neither pair of wheel bugs is mating, just coupled. Mating means they would by coupled, the male off to the side, not directly on top.
Eric Eaton
What in the world is this?
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 1:35 PM
This bug was found walking around on our back porch. It apparently looks like it was trying to make more too! Thanks for any help you can provide.
TS
Troy, Ohio USA
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi TS,
Wow, what a wonderful image of mating Wheel Bugs. Wheel Bugs are predatory Assassin Bugs and they are quite beneficial in the garden. Interestingly, we got two photos today of mating Wheel Bugs and we will post them both.
Neither pair of wheel bugs is mating, just coupled. Mating means they would by coupled, the male off to the side, not directly on top.
Eric Eaton
who knows bug
Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 2:57 PM
These two have been hanging around for days. Wondering what they are. They look ancient. They are very small. Smaller than my little fingernail.
Christy
Southern New Mexico
Mating Broad-Nosed Weevils
Hi Christy,
These are mating Broad Nosed Weevils, most probably in the genus Ophryastes which are found in desert climates in the American Southwest. We located images of this genus on BugGuide.
mating yellow jackets?
Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 10:10 AM
At first, I thought this cluster was chowing down on some hapless insect, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, does it?
Not more than half a mile away, while walking the dog, we wandered too close to a nest and Jester got his butt stung by another one — I guess it’s just that time of year!
Yellowjacket Mating Frenzy
Hi Pat,
Since you had our email address from before our site migration, you did not submit this letter with the new form that requires that a location be provided for identification purposes. We wish you had included your location in your letter. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can provide any information on this mating frenzy of Yellowjackets.
oops, sorry. We’re located in Southwest Michigan, just about a mile from the Lake Michigan.
October 7, 2008
Daniel:
Yes, these are male “southern yellowjackets,” Vespula squamosa, mobbing a new queen. This species is somewhat unique in that it is a facultative (as opposed to “obligatory”) social parasite of other yellowjackets. In the spring, if nesting sites are scarce, a queen southern yellowjacket may attack the queen of another species and kill her. The workers of the host species then raise the offspring of the southern queen. Most colonies of the host species have small numbers of workers when this happens, and it may not happen with a high degree of frequency.
Eric
Mating Griffin’s Sheepmoths
Bugman, your WTB & Bug Love sites are truly unique and fascinating. Thanks for creating and maintaining these to help us ID what we find in the field. We found a mating pair of Hemileuca griffini while hiking on Pollywog Bench above Lake Powell, UT on the east side of the Escalante River confluence. The photos submitted show the moths embraced around a small dry grass shoot held by someone (finger at bottom). We found the fine amber head hairs and fillary antanni quite beautiful. They remained clutched in spite of our interference. Date taken – 09/23/2008.
•How you want your letter signed
n8urnut
Southern Utah
Griffin
Dear n8urnut,
Thanks so much for sending us your photo of mating Griffin’s Sheepmoths. We will link to the Butterflies and Moths of North America to provide additional information on the species.
Butterfly love & more!
I thought you would enjoy having these butterfly photos I took while on vacation in Pennsylvania. Attached are photos of (what I believe to be) mating Silver-spotted Skippers, a Great Spangled Fritillary and a Zebra Heliconian. Enjoy! If I mis-classified them…my apologies. Thanks for the great site!
Kristin
Mechanicsburg area, PA
Silver Spotted Skippers Mating
Hi Kristin,
Your identifications are all correct, and we are very happy to post your images of the mating Silver Spotted Skippers and the Zebra Longwing. Please explain the Zebra sighting. This species is found in Florida and the southern states, and to the best of our knowledge, it does not stray north. Perhaps it caught a ride on Hurricane Ike. Please write back and verify that the Zebra Longwing was spotted in Pennsylvania, and clarify that it was in the wild and not in a butterfly exhibit.
Zebra Longwing: In Pennsylvania?????
Hi Daniel!
I’m sorry, I should have specified that! The Skippers & Fritillary were photographed in the wild and the Zebra Heliconian was photographed in the butterfly pavilion exhibit at Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA. I also have a pic of a Common Buckeye that I photographed in the butterfly pavilion. I went ahead and attached it, in case you wanted to post that for others’ identification purposes.
Thanks again and have a great week,
Kristin
